LONDON — Australian teenager Thanasi Kokkinakis apologized to his growing fan club after becoming a little star-struck during his defeat by Frenchman Gilles Simon on Center Court at the Aegon Championships at Queen's Club on Wednesday.
The 19-year-old wildcard could not repeat the form that saw him beat Jeremy Chardy for his first Tour level victory on grass the previous day, stalling to a 6-4 6-2 defeat on Center Court as the effects of a dash back Down Under to visit his ailing grandmother appeared to catch up with him.
Kokkinakis, 70th in the ATP rankings after reaching the French Open third round where he pushed Novak Djokovic hard, actually started well but was too inconsistent against the wily seventh seed and his challenge faded.